E350 owners ... does your car always start in C or E instead of S

My 09 C350 which I always leave is S mode will stay in S mode but I notice the loaner cars I get always start in E or C depending on the model. From what I understand this is a 2010 model change.
Anyway, will the 2011 if I leave the transmission in 'S" will it stay in S pr switch at every restart.
thank you,




Hey Benz,
Do you really always want to drive with WOT on your car? If that is the case why did you not get a Porche or Ferrari for really fast driving?
I think it is very good feature that at every start the car is in E-mode as it is totally not necessary to have it at S-mode other than when you really need it.
I use it when I stop at lights and see a Lexus a Bimmer or an Audi pull next to me on the front row, i.e. somehow my finger finds its way to press that button to make it to S-mode...and it really works in my car...it is a rocket.

Oh by the way... yes yes... that one always starts with E.
(may be stands for E-class....hehehehe, sorry too much food for celebrating Chinese new year
)....enjoy your car!
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Last edited by BPhillyBenz; Feb 3, 2011 at 05:22 PM.
Just my 2 cents.




Do you really always want to drive with WOT on your car? If that is the case why did you not get a Porche or Ferrari for really fast driving?
I think it is very good feature that at every start the car is in E-mode as it is totally not necessary to have it at S-mode other than when you really need it.
I use it when I stop at lights and see a Lexus a Bimmer or an Audi pull next to me on the front row, i.e. somehow my finger finds its way to press that button to make it to S-mode...and it really works in my car...it is a rocket.
You should very well be allowed to keep it on as you see fit. Again, it isn't a "NOS" button, or some rocket launcher that is only implemented for performance. There are other benefits to having a usable 1st gear.
Also, I chuckle at the sight of an E350 owner racing a Lexus owner,
. You guys really do this stuff? I get this for the Mustang and Camaro Forums, but it's just embarrassing to hear here
.And our E's are plenty quick IMO, but certainly not ROCKETS, lol. And FYI, if you "floor" it in "C/E" Mode, the car will start off in first anyway, from what I've heard.

Seriously here the the facts - the "S" sport mode allows the automatic transmission to shift up later. The transmission will hold onto lower gears until higher up the engine's RPM range which keeps power at the ready. The simple trade-off is lower fuel economy.

Seriously here the the facts - the "S" sport mode allows the automatic transmission to shift up later. The transmission will hold onto lower gears until higher up the engine's RPM range which keeps power at the ready. The simple trade-off is lower fuel economy.
What I notice from it most, is the simple addition of a 1st gear, I never even noticed it holding the gears higher, but I drive like a Granny anyways.
I don’t remember the manual mentioning anything about faster throttle response so the responsiveness may just be a factor of the car keeping a higher rpm. I swear it’s quicker to downshift too.
I rely heavily on the electronic gizmos - I drive with them on regularly, as they are incredibly useful in SF bay area traffic. The car practically drives itself in our typical rush hour traffic; I literally had it do that for over 2 hours one time having to touch the wheel three times briefly through the entire time (it doesn't issue the "hands on wheel!" warning under 20-25 MPH or so, so you can be hands off for long stretches).
As such, I had frequent opportunities to explore the differences. "S" mode is the only way this can work, and the reason is that it responds faster to the minute changing conditions in this sort of crawling traffic. In "E" mode, the car constantly creates large spaces in front of it because it takes an extra little bit to respond to a sudden surge from the car in front. This means that someone will inevitably slide into that space, which then makes the car stop suddenly, and it repeats over and over again. In "S" mode this doesn't happen.
Last edited by lightnng; May 14, 2014 at 01:45 PM.




But yes, it starts in E. If you want good "auto-driving" performance in rush hour traffic, you need to set it to "S" and disable Eco. The car then does a really nice job of both responding to start-and-stop conditions, as well as not creating over-large spaces in front or confusing other drivers.








